I: Witness

Young Malaysia Revisited

2009-08-23T01:15:00.002+08:00

Revisit Malaysia via the lens of senior citizen and former Malaysian Information Department, photographer head, Mr Michael Wong Swee Lin

The Declaration of Unity

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More than half a century ago, our predecessors had come to an agreement to form a sovereign and independent nation. They had collectively accepted the fact that the nation is made up of a community that was pluralistic in belief, ethnicity and culture. They had the faith that the nation's strength strongly depended on subservient to moderate actions and cooperation among the diverse ethnic groups based on justice, democracy and agreements. Such aspirations were the crux to the formation of the Alliance Party, as a means for the people to attain Independence and form Malaysia.

Inside Looking Out

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The Rise of 1Malaysia

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The response by the Malays to the formation of the Malayan Union was way unexpected by the Britain government. They had expected the subservient Malays to simply ignore the latest development, but to their amazement, the Malay people raised up to oppose the Malayan Union proposal. The Chinese and the Indian communities were also non-approving and critical of some of the stipulations.

British retirees from the Malay States Public Services and Malay leaders spearheaded calls to reject the Malayan Union plan, and accused MacMichael of devising 'a threaten approach’ to obtain endorsements from the Malay Rulers to submit their adherence to new agreements set forth.

The old parliament lobby united with former British public services officers, among them prominent people like Frank Swettenham, George Maxwell, R. O. W. Winstedt, Cecil Clementi and Laurence Guillemard, wrote a series of letters and published in the local national dailies to call on the United Kingdom prime minister to review the intention.

Such activities were then perceived by many as a strong opposition to the Malayan Union plan that subsequently led to its expulsion.

The Malay Rulers were absorbed with feelings of opposition to the Malayan Union especially at the way MacMichael manipulated in obtaining their signatures as endorsement for new agreements. The sultans rejected the Malayan Union and suggested that a representative be sent to London to formally emit the proposal.

The idea however, was further elaborated by a more effective manner whereby the Malay people had already planned to hand over the petition of protest via a new political vehicle.

Pre-Independence

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The Federation of Malay States (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu or Malaya) achieved Independence on Saturday, August 31, 1957. The country obtained Independence without any bloodshed, as what endured by other Asian countries. The sacrifices and hardships tolerated by past heroes in struggling for Independence were enormous. Francis Light’s arrival and his ‘discovery’ of the Penang Island in 1786 marked the start of English colonialism over the Malay States. The resistance from the locals against the colonials, although in small scales, had started at regional level. The locals were labelled as traitors, pirates or rebels then, but they were unperturbed. Names like Datuk Bahaman, Mat Kilau, Dol Said, Tok Janggut, Datuk Maharajalela, Rosli Dhobi, Mat Salleh, Panglima Hitam and many more were the heroes that were the pride of the local people, mentioned from generations to generations.

Likewise the contributions from the security forces - the police and the Malay army were so great, especially when they fought to their last blood against the Japanese and the Communist terrorists. They put their lives at stake solely to protect the country. Lieutenant Adnan, and the Bukit Kepong incidents were merely names, but they were the legacy of patriotism and heroic humbleness. After being labelled as a weak nation, lethargic and uncivilised, the Malays woke up from their slumber and demonstrated resilience and dexterity when the opportunity for Independence arose after the Second World War. The English who received a strong blow from their defeat to the Japanese had to watch the rising tide of the opposition from the locals. The psychological effect of the Japanese slogan - Asia for Asians, and the emergence of Nationalist Malays, had all attributed to the strong resistance against the English.

The pressures in the form of protest demonstrations, mourning, gatherings of movements for Independence, as well as negotiations, had resulted in good favour for the locals. The English had to submit that their era of colonialism was drawing to end. August 31, 1957, signified the big moment. The occupation of nearly 219 years by the Britain empire, and after reaping from the ‘luxuries’ of the country, they knew they had to leave. The locals were adamant that enough was enough. The sacrifices by the many heroes who struggled and for the liberty of the country were being paid off. We should be thankful to them and prayers should always go to these dear heroes. And there is no Independence without sacrifices.

Towards 1Malaysia

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After the Allicance party that was led by Tunku Abdul Rahman won the first Federation of Malay States general election 1955, the Britain government started to provide momentum for the route to Independence. Following this event January 1956, Tunku Abdul Rahman led a group of 4 representatives of the Malayan Royalty and the Alliance party to London, to present the proposal for Independence. Besides Tunku, the Independence mission group comprised of Tun Abdul Razak Hussien, Kol H.S. Lee, Dr. Ismail Dato' Abdul Rahman, En. Abdul Kadir(representing the Sultans) and T.H. Tan.

The representatives negotiated for the roadmap to Malayan Independence and lasted for three weeks commencing January 18 until February 8, 1956. Again, on May 9, 1957, Tunku Abdul Rahman, together with Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Ong Yoke Lin and V.T. Sambanthan went to London to conclude the negotiations and the Britain government then agreed that Malaya was ready for her Independence.

In Malaya, the people received the news of Independence with mixed emotions and gratitude.

After a long phase of British occupation, and facing obstacles, the country at last was looking forward for a dream come true. When Tunku returned to Malaya, the awaiting thousands of ‘rakyats,’ had already arranged for a grand reception at the Padang Pahlawan, Bandar Hilir, Melaka, February 20, 1956.

Tunku and his delegation were paraded at the Padang Pahlawan where Tunku announced vehemently that the Independence Day would be officially solemnised on August 31, 1957. From the day onwards, a succession of preparations were arranged to celebrate the occasion, among which was the construction of the Merdeka Stadium where it became the venue for the declaration of Independence.

The long awaited moment of celebrations started on the eve of August 31, 1957, when the Union Jack was brought down and the "God Save The Queen" of Great Britain’s national anthem was played for the last time in Malaya. The people at the Selangor Club were overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and exhilaration. Considering the long time span of British occupation in Malay - from the day Francis Light erected the Union Jack in the Penang Island August 11, 1786 to the eve of August 31, 1957, at the strike of twelve midnight, it was definitely a sight of relief to see the Jalur Gemilang waving ‘proudly’ in the country.

The following morning, in front of an audience of thousands of people, and on stage together with the representative of Queen Elizabeth II - the Duke of Gloucester, British High Commissioner Sir Donald Mc Gillivary, and nine Malay Sultans, Tunku Abdul Rahman uttered "In the name of Allah, the Federation of Malay States will forever become a democratic free country” and hailed "MERDEKA!"to the echoes of the audience. The Merdeka Stadium ‘erupted.’

Malaysia Then

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Tunku Abdul Rahman wished to include Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore as part of Malaysia. His idea was received with different reactions locally and abroad. In 1962, Tunku made a series of visits to Sabah and Sarawak in June, to Brunei in July, and Singapore in August, to explain on the concept of Malaysia. Although the announcement for unification was well accepted, there were quarters that were suspicious of British involvement behind the motive. Tunku then was invited to London to discuss the issue of formation of Malaysia with the Britain government.

A Commission known as the Cobbold Commission was formed on January 16, 1962. It was made up of two representatives each from the Malayan government and the Britain government. They made a series of visits from February to April 1962 and discovered that 80 percent of the people of Sabah and Sarawak agreed to the Malaysia formation idea. More than 4000 people from 690 associations were interviewed. Brunei however refused to acknowledge in the idea.

Indonesia, under President Sukarno, was against the formation and on January 20, 1963, launched the “Ganyang Malaysia” campaign. The confrontation went on until a ceasefire was signed between the two countries in August 1966. The formation of Malaysia was signed in London, July 9, 1963 and declared officially on September 16, 1963 by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

The declaration of Malaysia was made in the attendance of His Royal Highness the Yang DiPertuan Agong, the Malay Sultans, the Governors of Penang, Singapore, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak, witnessed by 30,000 Malaysian people at the Merdeka Stadium.